Swedes trash cash (P2)
Choose the best answer:
1. What can we conclude from the article?
A. “Cashless” means using a credit card instead of cash.
B. Cash is becoming less common than cards in the US.
C. Most Swedish banks discourage people from using cash.
D. Sweden is moving away from cash transactions.

2. Which of the following statements is TRUE about Oscar?
A. He thinks less cash means more safety.
B. He thinks using coins is very troublesome.
C. He and Par Karlsson have different attitudes toward using cash.
D. He has a negative view of the trend toward a cashless society.

3. What are the benefits of a “cashless” economy mentioned in the article?
a. safety  b. accuracy 
c. circulation  d. convenience
A. ad         B. abd 
C. acd          D. abcd

4. What can we infer from the last three paragraphs?
A. Less cash use contributes to a fall in bank robberies.
B. Everyone welcomes a cashless society except elderly people.
C. The number of cases of robbery in Sweden is the lowest in the world.
D. People in rural areas are likely to keep using cash because they have no ATMs nearby.

Battle of the brains (P4)
Choose the best answer:
1. What is the text mainly about?
A. The tension between the author and her father.
B. The competition between Oxford and Cambridge.
C. The Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge.
D. The differences between Oxford and Cambridge.

2. The underlined phrase “league tables” in Paragraph 3 probably means _____.
A. ranking charts    
B. public influence
C. academic atmosphere  
D. boat race outcomes

3. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the article?
A. The author doesn’t get along well with her father.
B. Cambridge was founded during the English Civil War.
C. “Tab” is an offensive nickname for Oxford students.
D. The “Oxbridge rivalry” has existed ever since Cambridge was founded.

4. With the example of the varsity ski trip, the author intends to show that _____.
A. the “Oxbridge rivalry” is always fierce but good-natured
B. Oxford and Cambridge compete almost whenever they can
C. students from Oxford and Cambridge can also cooperate
D. the varsity ski trip is a fun time at Oxford and Cambridge

Fishy film goes deep (P5)
Choose the best answer:
1. What is the point of the article?
A. To draw public attention to the Mariana Trench.
B. To report on the successful launch of the “Deepsea Challenger”.
C. To inform readers of Cameron’s adventure to the Mariana Trench.
D. To introduce Cameron’s latest video filmed in the Mariana Trench.

2. It can be inferred from the article that when Cameron reached the Mariana Trench, _____.
A. he felt lonely and isolated 
B. he was anxious about his safety
C. he was overwhelmed by what he experienced
D. he was excited that he had conquered the ocean

3. How does the “Deepsea Challenger” differ from ordinary submarines? 
A. It is specially designed for filming under the sea.
B. It is much heavier than an ordinary submarine.
C. It is more comfortable than an ordinary submarine.
D. It enables passengers to see the outside.

4. Which of the following statements about the Mariana Trench is TRUE according to the article?
A. Cameron is the first person to have explored the Mariana Trench so far.
B. The role that deep-sea trenches play in earthquakes is still unknown.
C. Scientists don’t think that the Mariana Trench is of much scientific value. 
D. There are no creatures living in the Mariana Trench due to its peculiar conditions.

Front row mom (P6)
1. Why did the woman in the story not want to take part in the performance at first?
A. Because it was just a small community theater.
B. Because it would be painful to perform without her mom being there.
C. Because she was occupied with other things and had no time to perform.
D. Because she doubted whether she could still perform well after such a long time.

2. Which of the following is TRUE according to the article?
A. Her mom used to criticize her performance.
B. She felt performing was pointless without her mom watching.
C. Her mother’s death still weighed heavily on her.
D. The “sweet memories” in paragraph 4 refer to the ones with her mother.

3. What happened that night when she performed again?
A. She couldn’t bring herself to perform at first.
B. She failed to follow the rhythm of the music.
C. She bought a seat and put her mom’s photo on it.
D. Due to her natural performance, the audience sensed nothing strange.

4. What does the underlined word “grief” mean in the second-to-last paragraph?
A. Sorrow.  B. Discomfort.
C. Nervousness. D. Doubt.

Answers:
Swedes trash cash (P2)
1. D。文章的第一句话“The first country to introduce bank notes may now become the first to get rid of them.”就提到了瑞典可能要成为第一个不用现钞的国家，所以可推知D项正确。第一段的最后一句话“… all payments are done electronically or via credit card”说明cashless是指电子支付或信用卡支付，所以A的说法太绝对；第二段提到了美国使用现金的比例分别为7%，但是文中并没有提及美国人使用信用卡的比例，所以无法推断出B；第三段里提到了一些银行已经停止现钞业务，所以C的Most不对。
2. B。从Oscar说的“Just the avoidance of coins makes it worthwhile in my opinion”可以看出，他觉得使用硬币很麻烦。从第五段可知，他对无钞社会持赞成态度，这点跟Par Karlsson的意见一致，所以C、D都不对。A没有提到。
3. A。文章中Oscar谈到了无钞支付的方便，Par Karlsson谈到了无钞支付带来的安全因素，其它的两项准确度和流通都没有提到，所以A正确。
4. A。从倒数第二、三段可以得出答案。文章只提到老年人可能仍然愿意使用现钞，B的说法太绝对。C、D文章没有提到。

Battle of the brains (P4)
1. B。本文作者从自己与父亲的紧张局面谈到了剑桥与牛津的竞争，以及这一竞争的缘由以及现状，所以B为正确答案。
2. A。第三段第一句话承上启下，league tables在此总结了第二段提到的“rivals as the top universities in the UK”以及“fight over the No 1 spot in the Times Higher Education list every year”，所以可推知该词组表示“排行榜”，所以答案为A。
3. D。由第三段“They set up Cambridge to be a “better” university and the rivalry began.”可知D正确。第一段提到了“I did something that made my relationship with my dad a bit tense”，但这只是作者与父亲相处中的一点分歧，并不表示作者与父亲相处不好，所以A不对；由第三段最后一句话可知英国内战期间剑桥大学早已成立，并且受议会控制，所以B不对；由第四段“Oxford students even have an insulting nickname for those at Cambridge”可知C不对，Tab是牛津大学的学生给剑桥学生起的绰号。
4. C。倒数第二段作者例举The varsity ski trip是为了说明前面提到的观点：“Oxbridge” also means working together，所以答案为C。

Fishy film goes deep (P5)
1. C。本文主要报道了卡梅隆最近到驾驶深海潜艇潜入马里亚纳海沟进行探险的情况，所以答案为C。
2. C。由第四段卡梅隆所说的话语可知他深入马里亚纳海沟后，感觉自己似乎到了另一个星球，有种与世隔绝的感觉，同时感觉自己的渺小，可推知他对自己的所见所闻感到震撼，故C项正确。由第六段可知他在海底还拍摄了录像，并且他感谢自己有这样的经历，所以可推知他在海底应该是镇定自若的，所以A、B不对。D项文中没有提及。
3. A。由第五段“Unlike ordinary submarines, it is wrapped (包围) in cameras and lights so that Cameron can film the ocean from the inside.”可知A正确，其他选项文中都没有提及。
4. B。由倒数第二段“They are also trying to figure out what role deep-sea trenches play in earthquakes.”可知B项正确，C项不对。由第三段“Cameron became the first person to explore the deepest valley in the ocean since two men made a 20-minute trip there in 1960.”可知之前有两人曾经去过那里，所以A不对。由倒数第二段第三句话可知D不对。

Front row mom (P6)
1. B。从第六段的“… I haven’t done it since my mom died. My mom was my biggest critic. She was there at every performance.”可以得出此答案。妈妈生前会观看她的每场演出，妈妈的去世给她带来很大的伤痛。虽然文章开头她说“I just don’t have the time”，但这只是她的借口。
2. C。见第一题的解析。在第六段的“My mom was my biggest critic”中，critic的意思是“评论家”，不一定就是批评她，所以A不对。B的pointless的意思是“没有意义的”，文中没有提到她觉得表演没有意义了，B不对。第四段的“sweet memories”指的是她在表演中的美好回忆，所以D不对。
3. A。从句子“The orchestra played a few bars over and over, waiting for her to take her cue”以及“The audience began to sense there might be a problem”可以看出，演出开始的时候她差点弄砸了，观众都感觉出了不对，所以A正确，D不对。从句子“She carefully counted the beat of the music.”可知，她应该是跟上了音乐的节奏，所以B不对。C的“put her mom’s photo on it”文中没有提到。
4. A。从上下文来看，文章一直贯穿着她因为妈妈去世感到的悲痛。并且句中的grief和pain并列，这两种情绪让她流泪了。综合判断该词应该是“悲伤”的意思。